gallagher



No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. M. GALLAGHER. SMOKE ABATING FURNACE.

Patented Jan. 2, 1894.

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THE NATIONAL LITHOGRAFHING GDMPANV. I wAeI-lmercu, n. c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T. M. GALLAGHER, SMOKE ABATING FURNACE.

No. 512,183. Patented Jan; 2, 1894.

a g I ZNES8{S/Z fmjv z'ofi M44 -Afi m KW THOMAS M. GALLAGHER, OF ST.LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES D. STEVENS, OF SAMEPLACE.

SMOKE-ABAT ING FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 512,183, dated January2, 1894:. Application filed July 26. 1893. Serial Not 81,551. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, .THoMAs M. GALLAGHER, of St. Louis, Missouri, havemade a new and useful Improvement in Smoke-Abating Furnaces, of whichthe following is a full, clear,

and exact description.

The invention under consideration and, which is applicable moreespecially, but not exclusively, to steam-boiler furnaces, is animproved means whereby familiar principles involved in the prevention,or abatement, or, as it is often popularly styled, the consumption, ofsmoke in a furnace, are more advantageously applied and carried out thanheretofore has been done. The means referred to are a combination ofelements, factors, or features some of which have been previously usedeither singly or in combination. Others again are now it is believed forthe first time employed, and,they, and especially the generalcombination shown, and which, when the invention is fully carried out,is used substantially as shown, are peculiarly effective in that therebythese desirable results in unison are 2 5 attained in a notable degree;air in sufficient quantity for the consumption of that portion of thefuel which otherwise would pass off in an unconsumed condition issupplied to the burning fuel, and, further, it is supplied at 0 the mostfavorable point, namely, in the immediate vicinity of the incandescentfuel where a proper temperature exists for accomplishing theconsumption; the gases which it is desired to consume are retarded fromes- 5 caping until the air is quite thoroughly mingled with them; and asthe air is supplied the gases are stirred and mingled with it and hencemore thoroughly consumed.

The improvement further relates to the provision for muffling thesteam-jets used in agitating and controlling the movement of the gases,and introducing the air.

The special mode of using the steam whereby Water gas to a limitedextent is generated 5 is an additional feature, all substantially as ishereinafter set forth and claimed, aided by the annexed drawings, makingpart of this specification, in which- Figurel is a vertical,longitudinal, central section of a furnace in which the improvement isembodied ;the furnace, in the present boiler and furnace, the hreechingof the boiler being broken away to exhibit the contained air-pipe;andFig. A a vertical cross section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

The-same letters of reference denote the same parts.

The furnace, A, is of any of the ordinary constructions saving asmodified or supplemented by the incorporation therein of theimprovernent under consideration. Its grate is shown at a, and a, is thedoorway to the furnace.

B represents the ash-pit, O the bridge-wall,

D the escape-flue leading from the furnace, and E the steam-boiler.

F represents the furnace and boiler setting. The boiler and furnacemayhave the usual relative arrangement. G represents the breeching ofthe boiler. Ordinary fuel, soft coal for instance, is used in thefurnace.

The improvement is carried out by. means of coacting air-currents andsteam jets.

H represents an air-flue extending through the bridge-wall and sidewalls of the furnace, and, by being open at its ends h, h, or otherwiseconstructed, adapted to receive air.

A series of fines, k extend forward through the portion 0 of thebridge-wall and connect the fine H with the interior of the furnace, andthe air entering the flue H can be drawn through them into the furnace.It is desirable for this air to be heated, and the heat whichaccumulates in the bridge wall is utilized to that end, and to enablethe bridge- Wall-heat to be applied advantageously the Wall is built ofthe customary refractory material, and the branch lines, 71 which passthrough the hottest portion of the wall, are in practice made quitenarrow-narrower than the scale of the drawings permits of being 5distinctly shown-and a large number of the fines are employed. A widthof half an inch to an inch is desirable, and it is also desirable forthe fines not to be obstructed by anything that may interfere with theinflow I00 of the air, or that may lower its temperature in entering.

- But this of itself is of but little value.

The natural draft of the furnace induces an inflow of air through thedescribed fiues.

Indeed, this is a defect in most-,if not all, of the devices which admitair through the bridgewall. For, under the influence of thefurnace-draft, the air is at once, and before it has had opportunity tomingle appreciably w1th the'gases in the immediate Vicinity of theincandescent fuel, carried into the escape-flue where it is of butcomparatively-little value in abating the smoke of the furnace. Iovercome the difficulty, and enable the air to be advantageously used,by employing means which serve both to retard the escape from thefurnace of the gases in an unconsumed condition and also to induce theflow of the air farther forward into the furnace and thereby provide amore extended area in which the air and gases may mingle and also afforda longer time for the mingling. The means referred to are auxiliarycurrents of some gas or vapor, and of sufficient force and properlydirected, and of a nature not unfavorable to fuel-consumption, whichoperate to blow the gases forward, and preferably both forward anddownward, in the furnace, and which, by displacing the gases more orless immediately in front, of the bridge wall, provide a betteropportunity for the air entering through the flues 71. to advanceforward of the bridge wall, and in a measure promote the suction of theair through the flues H, 71 and overcome the influence of thefurnace-draft sufliciently to enable the air to thus advance into thefurnace. While compressed air might answer the purpose I prefer to usesteam-jets, and I introducethem at the sides of the furnace immediatelyin front, and at a level somewhat above that of the top of the bridgewall.

I and I represent the nozzles in question. At thelr other ends theyconnect with a pipe J which conducts the steam from a suitable sourcesuch as the drum e of the boiler. The innerends t of the nozzles arepointed, substantially as shown, to deliver the steam-currents bothforward and crosswise in the f urnace and also, preferably, downwardtherein, and the objective points of the currents are preferably abouttwo-fifths of the furnacelength forward of the bridge-wall and,respectively, at opposite sides, somewhat, of the middle of the furnaceand in the immediate Vicinity of the grate, substantially as isindicated.

The apparatus thus far described is materially supplemented by othersteam-currents delivered into the furnace from the front thereof, andfrom the sides near the front of the furnace. They act to stir, agitateand break up the body of gases while in the immediate vicinity of theincandescent fuel and thereby facilitate the mixing of the air and gasesat the point mentioned. The currents from the front are directedbackward and downward to meet the fire ata line about two fifths thefurnace-length from its front end. The front-side currents are directedcross wise, rearwardly and downward toward the middle of the furnace ata point or points in the vicinity of the line to which the frontcurrents are directed. The three sets of currents, directed respectivelyforward, backward and sidewise, and all of them downward as described,thus coact in breaking up and overturning the body of gasesand promotingtheunion of the air therewith in the immediate vicinity of theincandescent-portion of the fire.

K K represent the nozzles through which the described rearwardlydirected currents enter, and L L, represent the nozzles for deliverin gthe front-side currents. All said currents are preferably connected withthe same steam supply pipe J substantially as shown; but each set ofnozzles may be controlled by its own valve to enable the sets to operateeither together or singly, or so that more steam can be turned onthrough some of them than through others of them.

An additional feature remains to be described; the hissing soundincident to the discharge of steam is usually objectionable. I lessen,if not entirely obviate, this difficulty by introducing thesteam-nozzles through airpipes M. That is, each steam-nozzle is carriedthrough an outer air-pipe N and is thus inclosed so far as the exteriorof the furnace is concerned. This serves to muffle the steamcurrents.The air-pipesin question, by being larger than the contained steam pipesas shown, also serve to introduce as many air currents to the interiorof the furnace, and thus to further promote the combustion of the gases,and, to still further promote the combustion; the air is warmed byheating the pipe N, which supplies the air to the pipe N. This may bevariously accomplished and preferably by leading the air pipe throughthe breeching' G whose heat serves to warm the pipe N and thereby heatthe air which enters through the inlet a of the pipe and passes thenceinto the pipes M and thence into the furnace. It will be noted that thepipe N is IIO warmed by means of heat which otherwise would be lost inthe smoke stack 0. It will also be seen that the steam delivered throughthe various steam nozzles is directed downward toward the furnace-grate.This, among other things, tends to hold the gases in the vicinity of theincandescent portion of the furnace fire, and when the steam encountersthe incandescent fuel more or less water gas is generated which ishelpful in promoting the efficiency of the furnace. In this, as in otherfurnaces in which steam has been used, it is unnecessary to introducethe steam saving at the time when the fire is replenished, and anymeans, automatic or otherwise, but not here shown, may be employed toturn the steam on and off.

I am aware that it is not new to provide air inlets in the bridge wallof furnaces; also that steam has been injected into the combustionchamber from different points at the side wall of the same; I am notaware, however, that it has ever been proposed to combine air-inletopenings in the furnace bridge wall with steam jets or nozzles arrangedas herein described for the purpose of assisting and diagonally forwarddirection; substan tially as described.

2. In a smoke abating furnace, the combination with the fire-box and thebridge-wall, of draft inlets at the rear of the fire-box through thebridge wall, injector nozzles 10- eated in the upper part of the wallsof the fire-box at or near the rear corners of the same, said nozzlesbeing arranged to deliver jets of steam into the fire-box in adownwardand diagonally forward direction, and similar nozzles located in theupper part of the Walls of the fire box at or near the front corners ofthe same, the latter nozzles being arranged to deliver jets of steaminto the firebox in a downward and diagonally rearward direction;substantially as described.

3. In a smoke abating furnace, the combination with the fire-box and thebridge-wall, of draft inlets at the rear of the fire-box through thebridge wall, injector nozzles located in the upper part of the walls ofthe fire-box at or near the rear corners of the same, said nozzles beingarranged to deliver jets of steam into the fire-box in a downward anddiagonally forward direction, similar nozzles located in the upper partof the walls of the fire-box at or near the front corners of the same,the latter nozzles being arranged to deliver jets of steam into thefire-box in a downward and diagonally rearward direction, and othernozzles located in the upper part of the front wall of the fire-box, thelast-named nozzles being arranged to deliver jets of steam into thefire-box in a downward and-rearward direction lengthwise of the same;substantially as described.

Witness my hand this 24th day of July, 1893.

THOMAS M. GALLAGHER.

Witnesses:

O. D. MOODY, A. BONVILLE.

